Captain Tragout K. Herbener was an ordained Lutheran minister who volunteered for military service early in the war. He was sent to Harvard to Chaplain's School and later was assigned to Camp Phillips in Kansas. While there, he met Pastor Alex Funke, who was a German Chaplain and PW. Herbener was going to be assigned to Camp Algona and asked if Funke would like to go there also. He arranged for this to happen and the two of them worked together at Camp Algona. In addition, they often went to branch camps to offer their services to the prisoners and American military personnel. While going to the branch camps, Herbener would drive and Funke would accompany him in full German military uniform. They continued to correspond after the war and Funke visited Herbener at his home in 1949.